A court yesterday heard how a claim by a Libyan that it had taken him three days to register his company in Malta alerted a police inspector that something was not in order.

Inspector Frankie Sammut, from the Immigration Department, was testifying in the compilation of evidence against accountant and auditor Joe Sammut. The 58-year-old former Labour Party treasurer and candidate stands accused of helping Libyans set up companies in Malta to obtain residency permits using forged documents and fraudulent means.

The inspector told Magistrate Doreen Clarke that in July, Identity Malta had informed him about suspected irregularities in the issuing of residency permits for Libyans.

He then spoke to a Libyan man who had turned up to pick up a residency permit. Despite saying he had signed a document which stated he could speak in English, the inspector had to communicate with him through an interpreter.

The man, who has since been deported, said he had completed the application through a person who had been in touch with the accountant Mr Sammut.

He did not know what the company was and how many shares he had, the inspector said, adding that he grew suspicious when the Libyan told him it had taken him just three days to register the company.